A coalition of Pittsburgh City Council members may have found a way to partially fill its Affordable Housing Opportunity Trust Fund, provide funding for early childhood education in the city, and offset a proposed hike in the real estate transfer tax with a package of budget amendments.

Encouraged by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s budget address calling on City Council to fund an affordable housing policy, over thirty housing and community development activists organized before the chamber Wednesday to continue the Mayor’s push to fund affordable housing across the city.

Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have submitted their proposals for consideration for their chance to land the highly sought after second headquarters of Amazon after they announced last month that they were looking to build a second headquarters, touting 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment for the lucky winner.

State representatives and local officials gathered in Pittsburgh Wednesday to discuss affordable housing and rebuilding neighborhoods across the city.

Rep. Dom Costa (D-Morningside) hosted a Democratic Policy Committee meeting in Lawrenceville, one of Pittsburgh’s most rapidly growing and changing city neighborhoods, to determine what state legislators can do to aid local efforts on the topic.